For the unmuddied, OCR (or Obstacle Course Racing) is big business these days and the Reebok Spartan Race Series holds the title as the world’s leading obstacle race series, challenging entrants to ‘discover their inner warrior’.

Don’t believe me? Well, more than 500,000 people have taken on the Spartan challenge to date, in over 60 races around the world, and at last year’s NBC televised 2013 Spartan Race World Championships, a bulging prize purse of $290,000 was in place!

That’s right... this is not ‘It’s a Knockout’ folks, nor is it multi-terrain running, instead it is a true test of physical strength and stamina, requiring skill, athleticism, coordination and a whole lot of ‘Spartanic’ courage!

Those of you who follow my efforts as founder of the Always With A Smile foundation will know that I have a long history in the sport. And yes, it really is a sport. Proof, if it were needed, can be found in the fact that athletes in the 2014 OCR World Championships will have to adhere to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code.

But for most of us out there, thoughts of competing in the World Championships are far from our minds. To us, an obstacle course race is a personal challenge. It’s something which looks physically tough but which also looks great fun to do. It’s an opportunity to test ourselves at something different, to get muddy, wet and sweaty, to hang from ropes, to climb and leap and tumble like we did when we were children, and to do it all with massive smiles across our faces.

But what if you’ve never stepped on to an obstacle course before? What if the challenge excites you but in the back of your mind you’re just not sure? Well, the Spartan Race has the perfect solution for you - the Spartan Training Camp.

Last weekend I was asked by Team Spartan to attend a camp with a host of journalists from across the UK. The camp, which was run by head Spartan coach Richard Pringle at the superb Fortitude Fitness Centre in Cambridge, was designed to give everyone a taste of obstacle course racing and to advise them how best to tackle the many disciplines of obstacle that litter any chosen course.

After the obligatory waiver signing, we began the session with a friendly meet and greet and then a light warm up - after a bit of light jogging, stretching, some partner work and a game or two we were soon mopping our brow in the blistering heat!

After what would be one of many water breaks throughout the day, we were then split into smaller groups and taken around the facility to learn how best to tackle high walls, cargo nets, monkey bars, parallel bars, water jumps, overhanging walls and a whole host of other obstacles. At each station, Richard showed why he is rightfully known as the “bearded messiah of OCR” with first a talk and then a practical demonstration - and then it was over to the group to put into practice what we had watched and learned.

Now some might question what a veteran of OCR might get out of a Spartan Training Camp... after all, I’m the goodwill ambassador of Tough Guy, the undisputed birth-place of obstacle racing. But the honest truth is that I learned a huge amount during the three hour session. It was extremely insightful watching how Richard tackled obstacles, comparing his style and undoubted fitness to my own more ballistic approach. His technique was the epitomy of efficiency and centred on the conservation of energy so that, as a runner, you’re still able to get over that last hurdle no matter how tired your body might feel at the end of a race.

Once everyone on the camp had tested and perfected their technique (to the best of their ability in any case) we were all given the opportunity to be timed going around the half mile course at the Fortitude Fitness Centre. Times were registered between six and 12 minutes, and yes, some did take longer but that didn’t matter. The whole point about OCR is that it’s not about how fast you tackle a course but how you tackle a course.

It is confession time however... I have to admit to not completing a timed lap! Instead I found myself having way too much fun in the mud pool! Sorry guys!

My take home message though, to both those who have trodden the uneven ground of an OCR and those who are thinking of giving it a go for the first time, is to book yourself into a Spartan Training Camp today and sign up for one of the events this summer. Kicking off in London in late August, races covering 5k, 13k or 20k, with 15, 21 or 26 obstacles respectively, take place in Cambridge, Edinburgh and Yorkshire, before returning to the capital in October.